


Late-Night Stroll Through My Memories

by Silverkleptofox



Category: Percy Jackson and related titles
Genre: Afterlife, Angst, Emotional Support, M/M, Minor Character Death, let Nico sleep, multi-pantheon, solangelo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-29
Updated: 2016-07-29
Packaged: 2018-07-27 10:02:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7613791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silverkleptofox/pseuds/Silverkleptofox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Something has Nico rushing out of Camp Half-Blood in the middle of dinner, and Will is determined to find out what; he learns more than he wished about Nico in the process.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Late-Night Stroll Through My Memories

**Author's Note:**

> I write all my stories on notepad, and post from mobile, so all the grammar and spelling is checked by hand. If you see an error, please let me know.

 

It was cold.  
That was strange for camp half-blood, considering the magical barrier that kept the temperature balmy year-round. But it was the middle of December. If it was cold in camp half-blood, it must already be freezing in the rest of the northeast.

Nico didn't mind. He always wore a jacket no matter what the weather. His boyfriend, on the other hand, was bundled up like a five-year old and huddling close to the fire. It was sort of cute.

What Nico _did_ mind was the buzzing in his ears. It had started in the early afternoon, soft enough that he had assumed it was just residual noise until it was quiet. It had been slowly growing louder as the sun went down.

To a normal person,  
It would be a minor annoyance, but to Nico, it was something much worse.

It meant someone was dying.

He couldn't tell who, or where, but it had to be someone close to him- either in proximity or by relation. He couldn't determine if it was Hazel or Reyna half a continent away, or someone who had crashed along state road 3.14.

After feeling around in the underworld for the souls of his friends and not finding any, he dismissed it as simply another stranger, an inevitable fact of life.

Anyway his... _favorite annoyance_ shuddering by the fire was enough of a distraction from the buzzing in his ears.

"Either quit staring or come over here and help me warm up." Will sighed in exasperation.

Nico smirked. It wasn't a smile, but Will knew it was the most he would get.

"Nah, I'm fine. The cold doesn't really bother me." Nico said bluntly.

Will raised an eyebrow in jest "You don't say?"

Nico rolled his eyes. "If you're about to make some pop-culture reference to a movie I haven't..." Suddenly the buzzing increased 100-fold. It was so loud in his head, he couldn't think of anything else. Nico's face went blank.

He could sense it- exactly which soul was nearing the end of its mortal life, the shears of the fates scratching their blade along its string. It _hurt,_ it was like his head was in a vice and all he could hear was the ragged breaths of someone slowly dying from malnutrition and hypothermia...

"Nico?" Will asked softly, but Nico didn't seem to hear him; his eyes distant as he brought his hands up to press against his ear. The temperature dropped ten degrees despite them being right next to the fire. Will went into Doctor-mode immediately, gleaning as much information as he could from Nico's actions. Were there too many stimuli overwhelming him? The only sound was the crackling of the campfire and the murmured worry of those close enough to notice something was wrong.

Will put his hand on Nico's shoulder. "Nico, what's wrong?" He asked, but Nico gently pushed him away. He was concentrating. He didn't want to be touched right now, and Will respected that, as much as it pained him to watch his boyfriend slowly crumple in on himself in what looked like pain and not comfort him. He settled for placing his hand over Nico's on his shoulder. Nico didn't pull away from that, at least. Will couldn't sense anything physically wrong with Nico. There was no injury or illness affecting him, but clearly something was wrong. Will didn't know what to do.

It went on for a few moments, and Nico was slowly attracting the attention of some of the other campers around the fire that night. They were visibly nervous- it was rare that the son of Hades showed any emotion other than boredom, annoyance, or smug satisfaction. To see him openly in anguish was worrying for all of them, especially without a discernible source. It was even more worrying for Will, who knew that Nico would never show this in public if he could help it.

Then it stopped. Nico gasped and looked up, snapping back into focus.

"Do you need to leave?" Will whispered. Nico nodded.

He sprang to his feet and rushed to cabin thirteen.

Immediately the whispers began.

"What's wrong with him?" Kayla asked, but Will just shook his head.

"I'm going to find out."

He caught up with Nico just as the demigod was exiting his cabin, sword in one hand and a sheaf of papers in the other. He spared Will a glance but kept walking quickly- straight to Thalia's tree. Will frowned. What was going on? He thought Nico was just having a moment, but if Nico was heading for the border, then he was planning on leaving. Most likely by shadow-travel. He grit his teeth and walked faster.

"You better not be planning on shadow-traveling, di Angelo! Stop running and tell me what's wrong." He shouted at Nico's back. Nico stopped momentarily, but then picked up the pace. "I have to, Will. There's no other way."

"Nico, no one is judging you. Whatever this is about, you don't have to leave..."

"You don't understand. I have to be somewhere, now." Nico said plainly.

"Okay." Will took a deep breath as he caught up to Nico. "But I'm still worried about you shadow-traveling, you're still not fully recovered. Don't you have a chauffeur to drive you where you need to go?"

"Jules-Albert won't be fast enough." Nico grimaced. Jules-Albert was one of the most reckless drag-racers Will had had the unfortunate experience of riding with. If even he wasn't fast enough... Will carefully laid a hand on Nico's shoulder.

"What could possibly be so urgent that you'd risk your health to get there this instant?" He asked. Nico turned to face him.

"My friend is _dying_ , Will. I made a promise..." He whispered.

Will had no idea how Nico knew that his friend was dying when they were nowhere in sight, but asking his boyfriend would have to wait. If someone was in trouble...

"Take me with you." Will said firmly.

Nico shrugged his hand off. "There's nothing you can do, not if I already heard..."

"Not for your friend." Will shook his head. He had hoped his healing could be of use, but if Nico said it was too late, Will trusted his judgment. "For you. You're still at risk, and I don't want you collapsing in-wherever it is..."

"Jersey, I think."

"...especially in Jersey. Can you spare a minute so I can grab my emergency bag?"

Nico nodded and stalked off to Thalia's tree. Will ran to cabin nine and returned in 40 seconds with a small duffel bag. He took Nico's offered hand and closed his eyes and the son of Hades pulled them both into the ether.

\---------

Nico slumped against a dirty brick wall as the world dissolved back into being around the pair of demigods. He was panting slightly and sweat glistened on his brow. Will steadied his shoulders, surreptitiously using his powers to check his boyfriend's vitals. Nico was tired and his heart rate was up, but he was in no immediate danger of collapsing. He was improving at last.

Nico took a minute to get his bearings before shrugging Will off. It was much colder here than at camp, and he was glad for his new fleece-lined leather jacket. It wasn't his beloved bomber... But it would do.

"So where are we, exactly?" Will broke the silence, shivering slightly. He would adjust to the temperature in a minute.

"We're in north Jersey." Nico replied. "But Randy's not here. We'll have to search." Nico shoved his hands in his pockets and started toward the mouth of the alley.

Will fell into step beside him. "Is that who we're looking for? A guy named Randy?"

"Sort of."

"You said you were looking for a friend. How did you two meet?"

"Randy took me in when I was homeless." Nico said as he kicked a can out of his way on the sidewalk.

Will gaped. "You were homeless?"

"Yeah, right after I left camp the first time. I didn't have anywhere to go, so..."

"Oh Nico..."

"I survived."

"Still..."

"I don't want to talk about it." Nico said firmly. Will knew that would be the end of that conversation for now. Maybe he would spill later, if he was sufficiently tired.

"Okay. What can you tell me about Randy, then?"

Nico's expression brightened just a little bit, but he kept his lips sealed. A normal person would miss it, but Will had learned how to read the subtle changes in his boyfriend's stoic face. Nico had trained himself not to say everything that was on his mind- Will always wondered when this change had come about exactly, as he was such a chatty child when he first arrived. Now Nico only voiced about ten percent of his thoughts unless prompted.

Will lightly took Nico's hand in his own and smiled. "Seriously. Tell me everything."

Nico closed his fingers around Will's. "After I left camp, I wasn't sure where to go. The only thing I could remember before boarding school was being in Washington, DC., so I started heading south. Percy had arrived to take us to camp right in the middle of a school dance, so I had no cash on me. Luckily it was a couple days before Christmas, so I guess the mortals were feeling generous. I convinced a bus driver to let me ride for free so I could go see my sister. It wasn't exactly a lie.

"The bus only got as far as Jersey before it was attacked by a giant scorpion- the stinger went right through the engine, it killed the driver. I panicked, and opened the earth to swallow it whole. I always wondered what the other passengers thought they saw, but I never found out. It was the second time I had ever used my powers, and in less than 24 hours. I passed out cold.

"That's when Randy found me. Apparently the corner I had collapsed on was some other bum's territory and he was going to call the cops on me. Randy took me to the homeless shelter. I guess I already looked enough like a bum not to question if I was one or not." Nico laughed humorlessly.

"When I woke up I saw the most haggard and dirty face I had ever seen licking its chops over some soup. That's when I first officially met Randy." Nico smiled just a bit. "That old bum hated homeless shelters. They never let Randy stay on account of being a war veteran, they always told vets to go to the VA instead, but the VA never did anything either. But the shelter couldn't turn away a kid. So at least Randy got a free meal out of me.

"We struck up an odd sort of friendship. Randy taught me about hobo hierarchy and street signals and where you could go for help and where would turn you in to the DCF. I had no idea any of that even existed, but Randy gave me a crash course on street survival. That's where I got my old bomber jacket- do you remember it?"

Will nodded, not interrupting.

"Randy gave it to me. Said I looked to small to be shivering on the streets- it was my first Christmas present." Nico chuckled under his breath. "Merry Christmas to me. I moved on once January came- I helped Randy pull in a lot of extra cash over by Christmas by being a 'pitiful homeless child' while Randy held up the "please help my son" sign. There was enough that when I left I had $40 in my pocket, for the road. I stumbled into the labyrinth a week after leaving." Nico shrugged.

"And then I found out about my powers, and my heritage, etcetera. After the first war, I went and found Randy. I used dad's credit card- oh yeah, Hades gave me a credit card. He's the god of wealth, so it's no big deal to him. I think he feels guilty about ignoring me for so many years, so he gave me an allowance. It's infinite. He doesn't really understand proportion... Anyway I got Randy an apartment. It's small, but it's warm and clean and paid for. But that old bum only uses it to store important documents and still lives on the streets.

"When I told Randy about who I was, I made a promise to take care of the paperwork when the geezer finally died. There's a will, and military benefits for the surviving family, stuff like that. But the government needs a death certificate."

Will nodded. "So that's where you come in?"

"Yes. I'll find Randy's body and call the authorities so a death certificate can be issued, then collect the paperwork from the apartment and get it to the next-of-kin."

"Sounds like you have a promising career in funeral services." Will said with a smirk. Nico looked at him blankly. "It was a joke." Will added.

Nico nodded in understanding, then closed his eyes for a beat. "We're about a mile away- 15 minutes if we walk."

Will kept in step with Nico as he headed towards the poorer side of the city. He was obviously looking for something, but Will couldn't place exactly what it was.

"So what exactly are you looking for?" He asked after a minute, tired of being ignorant.

"Symbols." Nico replied simply. Wil raised an eyebrow in a 'go on' sort of gesture, and Nico sighed. "There's a sort of code, for homeless people. You see that mark?" He pointed to a small doodle in chalk on the back of a bus stop bench. It was a squiggly line with smaller lines coming out of it, like a snake with legs or a pair of closed eyes. "That means you can sneak on the public transport fairly easily. They don't check tickets. And that one-" he pointed to a square with a dot inside scribbled on a brick next to an alleyway "- means danger. So we're not going in there."

"Those things are everywhere, I never noticed before..." Will said softly. Nico shrugged. "Most people don't, and that's the point. We're looking for a square U-type shape, it means a safe camp. Hopefully Randy will be in one of those."

They walked for a bit, Nico pointing out symbols to Will and explaining what they meant. Then they fell into silence as Nico apparently found what he was looking for and started heading down a street.

"How does it work?" Will asked suddenly.

"How does what work?"

"You can sense death, right?" He clarified.

Nico shrugged. "I can sense when people are dying, or about to die, but not where or when. I'm not a prophet- that's your dad's thing." Will caught the barest hint of a smirk in the corner of Nico's eye.

"What's it like?" Will was curious, and Nico seemed amicable to sharing, which wasn't a common occurrence, so he pried.

"It's like... A sort or miasma around a person, when death is still only a possibility. I can sense it, and sort of see it, sometimes. It gets thicker the more likely someone is going to die, until someone actually _does_ die. Then it's like a buzzing in my ears- it gets louder and louder until their soul enters Hades. It's only ever happened for people I know personally, or are nearby."

"And you can track where someone is by that sense?"

Nico stopped walking to stifle a snort of laughter. "Heh, I wish. That would actually be _useful._ "

Will cocked his head. That's not what Nico was following? "Then... How are we going to find Randy?"

Nico stared at Will. "Luck." He replied flatly, and started walking down the street again.

Will stood on the sidewalk with his forehead in his hands for a bit before trotting to catch up to his boyfriend. "Do you always track down the dead via luck?" Sarcasm tinted his words.

"Normally Thanatos just texts me if there's a problem." Nico shoved his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket, which would normally be a sign to stop talking, but Will was a bit peeved at the revelation that he had accompanied Nico into the city on what felt like a wild goose chase, and that Nico of all people actually possessed a mobile phone.

"Okay wait. You mean to tell me that not only do you have a cell phone, but you use it to text _the god of the dead!?_ "

Nico blushed faintly. "Well, kind of. It's celestial bronze and Stygian iron, and I can only use it to get messages from dad or Thanatos, and occasionally Alecto or some of the other chthonic deities. Very limited use, work only."'

Well that was a bit better than knowing Nico had a way to contact him in an emergency that he refused to use, if only certain people could call it..."Oh my gods, you have a ghost-beeper."

Nico's blush deepened. "No I don't!"

"Admit it. I bet it's one of those 90's flip-phones too."

"...90's?" A black eyebrow rose.

"Never mind." Will chuckled. "You have a ghost phone."

"Ok, yes I have a ghost phone." Nick huffed.

"So you're just waiting on a text from Thanatos, then? Why didn't you just wait at camp? Why the rush?"

Nico looked at Will blankly. "Randy isn't Greek."

"So..." Will trailed off.

"Not Than's district."

 _Than? **Seriously?**_ "District?"

"Different religions and nationalities, different escorts to the afterlife." Nico explained.

Will laced a hand through Nico's arm to stop him. He turned to face the boy with his eyebrows pursed. "There are other gods than Greek and Roman?"

Nico's eyes widened and he quickly looked away. "That's classified."

"That's a yes!" Will exclaimed, tightening his grip on Nico's arm excitedly.

Will was already too good at reading him, it seemed.

"That's _classified._ " Nico said firmly as he defiantly began walking again.

Will was too excited to care, running his mouth like an exuberant fan girl. "Oh my gods, have you ever met, like, Anubis?"

"Once or twice." Nico said quietly.

"Oh my GODS."

"Will."

"Okay okay I'll stop. So who is Randy's escort?"

"If I'm correct, Azrael." Nico said with an edge in his voice. "And Azrael is fast. He won't delay a soul for any reason, especially for another pantheon. So in order to talk to Randy's ghost, we have to get there before he does."

"What pantheon is Azrael?" Will asked innocently.

Nico turned away. "The one we don't talk about." He whispered.

"Oh." Will replied. Then he realized what that meant. "Oh. Wait- IT'S REAL!?"

"Will. Shut up. Now."

Will covered his mouth with his hands to muffle his boyish screaming. Nico was torn between being annoyed with his antics, finding them cute, and being afraid of the consequences of Will knowing what he had just implied when something beeped in his jacket pocket.

"Dam it." He muttered, pulling out the bulky black flip-phone.

"I was right! I can see why you don't show that off." Will giggled. Nico shot him a glare and flipped it open. Whatever was on the screen must've made him angry, because he pressed a button and held the phone to his ear. "Can't this wait, Than? I'm trying to find a soul from another district before it's claimed." He grit through his teeth.

No came the voice from the other side. She's asking for you by name.

Nico sighed. "Text me the address. This better be quick." He hung up. "Sorry, duty calls." He said to Will. "Let's go."

Nico grabbed Will's hand and pulled them into the ether.

\---------

They emerged in a snowdrift under a dilapidated bridge. Nico stumbled and Will braced him upright- he was shaking, but from exertion or the severe cold, Will couldn't determine.

"Nico." Came a low, soft voice from behind them. It made Will's spine shiver and he turned to face the source. It was a tall man, with very dark skin and beautiful eyes. He could have been a breathing ebony statue of Cupid for how handsome he was. But his eyes were much kinder, if cold. The same sort of cold, unfeeling judgement mixed with mercy that had drawn Will to Nico so long ago.

"Thanatos." Nico answered.

The god of death's lips quirked into what couldn't be called a smile, but Will supposed was the equivalent. "She refused to go with me until she saw you." He said. A pair of enormous black feathered wings rustled behind him, and a spirit stepped into view.

Will felt Nico go stiff in his arms.

It was a short woman, wrapped in too many ill-fitting coats with her matted hair tied behind her head with a plastic zip-tie. Even in death, her silvery form walked with a limp and her face held a scowl.

"What are you doing here?!" Nico accused suddenly, but he wasn't looking at the woman, he was locking eyes with the god of death himself.

Thanatos lifted one handsome eyebrow, urging Nico to elaborate.

"She's not your charge- you'll upset the balance of death!" Nico hissed. "He is going to break into Hades to..."

"Nico, be still," Thanatos raised his hand. "Azrael is taking a vacation. The rest of us have taken his charges amongst ourselves for the week. The treaties still hold."

Will could feel the relief in Nico under his palm, but he was too dumbfounded to keep his mouth shut. "The grim reaper is on vacation?" He blurted out. "Why...?And where?"

Thanatos turned to him. "Azrael is especially busy in the months leading up to Christmas- I know not why he chooses to reap souls so often right before his pantheon's major holiday. As for where, ...Australia."

"...Australia?" Will whispered.

"Australia." Nico rolled his eyes. "Of course. Where else would a death god vacation? It's hot, sunny, and everything is trying to kill you. The only thing close is Florida, but Thor has dibs on that from May to November."

Will was about to question the mention of Thor of all gods and the implications of that statement when a rough voice interrupted them.

"Hey! Excuse me!" The spirit woman shouted suddenly. "Can y'all go over all this supernatural crap another time? Because I've been waiting a good three hours to see my boy here, and I don't got all damn day!" She tapped her foot with her hands on her hips.

Nico removed himself from Will's grasp and stepped up to her with a wry smile. "Shut up you old codger. You're dead. You have all the time in the world."

"Actually..." Thanatos cut in, tapping on his sleek black tablet. "I have other souls to ferry tonight. Be quick."

Nico nodded and turned back to the woman. "So. Randy. Long time no see."

Will sputtered. "Wait... That's Randy? Randy's a girl?"

Randy and Nico both gave Will a 'can-you-not' glare and went back to their conversation.

"Yeah, you hardly ever visited." She gave him a well-meaning punch to the arm, but it slipped through him. "Y'know I never quite believed you when you said you were the Prince of hell..."

"Hades."

"... Or whatever, but I guess you were telling the truth."

Nico blinked. "I never lie. Are you sure you don't want to go to Hades? I can ferry you there personally, and make sure you have a good afterlife. I'm one of the judges now- the King of Ghosts. I can put in a good word for you, pull some strings. If I say Elysium, you'll get Elysium. Guaranteed."

"Well well, I'm proud of you then, you're moving up in the world... Err... Or would it be down? In the underworld?" Randy beamed. "But no, I think I'll take my chances with St. Peter. All those years on the streets after serving in the war have to count for something, right?"

"You know that's not how your pantheon works..." Nico stated.

Randy chuckled. "Yeah yeah I know. Tell my daughter I said goodbye, and that I never liked her first husband."

"I will." Nico nodded. "And I've got the key to your place to file the necessary paperwork to redeem the death benefits for your grandson."

"That's my boy. You be good now, stay out of trouble, and don't give your boyfriend over there a heart attack."

"He's not my..." Nico sputtered, blushing.

"Don't lie to me, boy." She said, before taking Thanatos' hand.

"I...!! Whatever." Nico sputtered, before calming himself. "Rest in peace, Randy." He said softly, and the god of death flitted away with her soul.

Nico stood there in the snowdrift for a silent moment, reaching up to scrub at his face and breathing deeply. He rummaged in his pocket and turned to Will, holding out his clunky demigod phone.

"Can you call 911 for me? I can't right now."

Will took the old Nokia and flipped it open, pressing the buttons. "Will it work? I thought you said..." Nico nodded silently. Will pressed the 'call' button and spoke to the operator. They had found a body, here was the address, no they didn't know the deceased, yes they were sure, yes they would wait until the authorities arrived, etc etc. Nico stood solemnly in the snow next to the half-buried remains of the woman who once cared for him.

"I really miss that jacket." He said.

"The bomber?" Will asked quietly. Nico nodded. "It was hers, she earned it, and she gave it to a filthy worthless kid." He sniffled. Will crunched through the snow to snake his arm around Nico's trembling shoulders. "I wish Lycaeon hadn't destroyed it..."

It took a good half an hour to get all the legal paperwork done- signing as witnesses, release of information, etc. Will was surprised that Nico had an updated ID, considering when he was born. It listed him as being fifteen and his address was in upstate New York. Nico shrugged it off, too mentally and physically exhausted to provide any more explanations.

After the police were finished with their questions and Randy's body had been taken to the morgue, Nico and Will eventually found a pay phone to call Randy's daughter. Will stood respectfully out of earshot while Nico told the woman that her mother was dead, and where to find the key to her apartment to access the necessary paperwork.

By the time they were done it was three o'clock in the morning and both boys were spent. Nico wanted to shadow-travel them both back to camp, but Will was reluctant.

"You've already shadow-traveled both of us twice today, you shouldn't do it a third time." He said, grasping Nico's hand to diagnose his status. "Really, you're already past your limit today. You need a break."

"I was only _planning_ to shadow-travel twice, but then Than called." Nico whined. "I just want to go back. I want to sleep."

"I know." Will soothed. "But you'll just hurt yourself. Let's take a break and have some coffee, and then we'll see where you're at. Deal?"

"Fine." Nico sighed.

They set off leisurely under the street lamps towards the nicer part of town, hoping to spot an all-night diner. Most of the popular joints were too crowded for Nico's taste, and Will was one-hundred percent against McDonald's, especially for coffee. They walked in tired amicable quiet until Will broke the spell.

"So. Randy was a girl." He stated.

Nico cast his glance sideways. "Yeah." He said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"And you didn't tell me why?" Will replied.

"I didn't think it was important." Nico shrugged.

Will opened his mouth to respond, but then thought better of it. "You know, you're right. It's not important. I just assumed, because of the name Randy and you said she was a homeless war veteran..."

"Yeah she gets... Got that a lot." Nico said fondly. "She was a tough old broad, really helped me when I was alone."

"And you did everything you could to repay her." Will smiled.

"I guess."

That's when Will heard a strange noise- like a shovel being scraped over rough concrete, softly. That wouldn't be too unusual in New York, but it was coming from above them, which was impossible. He looked up and saw what seemed to be a flock of large crows staring down at them, but something wasn't quite right. He tapped Nico on the shoulder- he hadn't heard the noise, he was probably too tired- and pointed them out to the son of Hades. Nico nodded and drew his Stygian Iron sword.

Seriously, couldn't they get a break for one night in the normal world? Will could only imaging fighting monsters every day- how had Nico survived on his own?

At the sight of the blade, the most surrounding the crows fizzled- it was actually a pair of Stymphalian birds looking to make a tasty meal out of a couple of demigods.

"Schist." Nico cursed, pushing Will behind him. Nico stepped forward to strike, but he faltered and nearly fell. He was tired. The birds swooped down on the pair, claws out and steel-tipped wings flashing in the night. Nico parried with his blade, but the feathers caught both of them on the arms.

The son of Apollo acted on instinct. He grabbed Nico from behind, crushing his dark-haired head into his ski jacket and covering Nico's exposed ear with one hand. Then he placed two fingers in his mouth and waited for the birds to swoop down again. When they did, he puffed his cheeks and let out and ultrasonic whistle. The birds fell to the ground, stunned. Nico seized the opportunity to slice them both across the gizzard.

Nico stopped to catch his breath amid the glittering golden remains of the two monsters.

"You okay?" Will asked, regaining his as well.

Nico nodded. "Dam payphone. They're the worst." His hands were shaking slightly- the boy needed a hot cocoa and a nap.

Will took his arm. "C'mon, lord of darkness. Let's find that coffee shop."

Nico rolled his eyes. "Are you sure I can't just take us home?" He grumbled.

"One-hundred percent." The son of Apollo beamed. It was annoying, yet strangely endearing, how stupidly happy he could pretend to be when Nico wasn't up to it.

They ended up getting drinks at a 24-hour Starbucks- Will with some sweet and ridiculous coffee concoction and Nico with hot chocolate. Will had cleaned out the shallow cuts on both their shoulders in the men's room with his med kit. The worst of the cuts only needed a butterfly bandage.

"That's why I left her." Nico muttered from where he sat on the closed toilet lid as Will packed up his kit.

"Hm?" He responded

"The monsters. They kept coming after me. Randy kept trying to fight them off. I didn't want her or the other bums to get hurt... So I left."

"That's when Minos found you, right?"

Nico nodded. "I fell down an uncovered manhole and into the labyrinth. When I went to find her after the war... She had been looking for me. Randy and the other bums kept a lookout for me for two years."

Will wasn't sure what to say, so he gently grasped Nico's hand and gave it a squeeze. He grasped back quickly and stood up. "Let's go home."

Nico offered to summon his zombie chauffeur, but Will vetoed that idea after Nico nearly pitched forward while still in the men's room. The poor boy was still recuperating in general, it wouldn't do to push his limits this early in his recovery.

So they hitched a cab back to state road 3.14 and put it on Hades' credit card. They arrived back at Camp Half-Blood just as the sun rose over the Atlantic, and Will said a quick prayer for his father, wherever he might be, and one for Randy, thanking her for the role she played in keeping Nico safe, and praying that she found happiness in whatever afterlife she ended up in.

He made sure Nico got safely into his bed in cabin thirteen, and grabbed another coffee from the mess hall before heading to cabin nine.

He was going to need it.

**Author's Note:**

> This story was inspired by "Out of the Shadows" by Marauder1331, which you can read here: http://archiveofourown.org/works/5709748


End file.
